Police Chief Rob Backus held a press conference on Oct. 3 to update the community on a series of five deaths that have occurred along a one‑mile segment of the Lansing River Trail over the last twelve months. The victims, ages 22 to 70, were identified as Gino Chouinard (54), Denis Dunnebacke (70), Robert Smith (57), Daniel Lusk (22) and Louis Woodruff (57). The earliest case, involving Chouinard, was reported on Oct. 14, 2025; the most recent, Woodruff, was found on Aug. 30, 2026.
Patterns and investigative challenges
Backus outlined several patterns that emerged from the investigations, noting that all deaths occurred within the same one‑mile stretch of the River Trail. While medical examiner results are still pending for some cases, the lack of witnesses and limited surveillance footage have hampered the effort.
“One question that we’re being asked is, do we have a serial killer in Lansing? What we need the public to know is we are investigating all of these cases. They are all active investigations, and we are looking at the idea or the possibility that these may be related cases,” Backus said.
He added that one of the incidents differed from the others because the victim was stabbed and a suspect is currently in custody. “The question that’s been posed to us is, is this the suspect for all the instances? I want to be very clear – that is a challenging question to answer and one that I have to be very cautious on,” Backus explained.
Expert perspective
Fox 2 spoke with criminologist Dr. David Hayes, who clarified the technical definition of a serial killer. “Technically a serial killer is someone who has killed multiple people, you have to have killed at least three people with a ‘cooling‑off’ period in between each of those,” Hayes said, distinguishing the term from mass murderers and spree killers.
Hayes warned that the investigation could be especially difficult because many of the victims were unhoused individuals. “An unhoused individual, a homeless person, they don’t have that digital footprint—or even that physical footprint—that we have, where people know where we’re at, people know what we’re doing,” he noted. “People living alongside an unhoused person or in the general area are going to be pretty reluctant to talk.”
He cautioned that if the deaths are linked, the perpetrator is likely preying on “incredibly vulnerable people.”
How the public can help
Backus urged anyone with information to call the tip line at (517) 483‑6023. He emphasized that community cooperation is essential to solving the cases and ensuring safety along the River Trail.
The Lansing Police Department continues to treat each death as an active investigation and will release updates as new information becomes available.
Original reporting: Warren | FOX 2 Detroit — read the source article.
